Potato collector



Jan. 27, 1925.

M. V. BRONDUM Filed Aug. 1. 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet l fiffarn ay Jan, 27, 1925.

- 1,524,015 M. V. BRONDUM POTATO COLLECTOR Filed Aug. 1. 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 M. V. BRONDUM POTATO COLLECTOR Filed Aug. 1. 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 27, 1925..

UNITED STATES MAGNUs v. isnonnuivr, or AARHUS, DENMARK.

POTATO COLLECTOR.

Application filed August 1, 1919. Serial No. 314,784.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAsNUs VILHELM BnoNnUM, engineer, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at Aarhus, Denmark, have invented some new and useful Improvements in Potato Collectors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a potato harvesting machine of the kind in which the materials are received by a movable grate, and consists essentially in the provision of serrated grate bars having a circular or elliptic motion imparted to them in a direction opposite to that of the road wheels of the machine, alternate bars being at a different angle of motion so that the materials are urged along the grates.

' In the accompanying drawings the invention is illustrated,

Figure 1 representing a side view of one form of construction,

Fig. 2, a sectional rear view of the same,

Fig. 3, a plan of the grates, and

Fig. 4, a cross-section of part of the grate on an enlarged scale.

Figs. 5 to 10 show side views of further modifications.

Fig. 11 represents a side view of the pre ferred form of the invention,

Fig. 12, a sectional rear view of Fig. 11, and

Fig. 13, a side view of another modification.

The machine frame 3 is carried by road wheels 1 mounted on a shaft 2 and provided with the usual draught pole 4. The shaft 2 is so connected to the wheels as to be compelled to rotate therewith, only when the machine moves in the forward direction. The earth and potatoes are dug up by a share 5 having two side plates forming a share frame 6. The share frame 6 is supported by two arms 13 having journaled in their lower ends a shaft 11 which also extends through bearings 12 in the share frame 6. The inclination of the arms 13 is determined by stay rods 22 which engage at one end one of a series of apertures 27 in a plate 23 on the machine frame and at the other end the arms 13. The forward end of the share frame 6 is suspended by means of links 32 on arms 31 secured to a rockshaft 30. The adjustment of the share frame 6 and share 5 carried thereby, is efthen the other set.

fected by means of a hand lever 25 provided with the usual toothed segment 26 and having an operating arm 27 connected by means of a rod 28 to arm 29 on the rockshaft 30.

The share 5 in being advanced along the ground delivers the materials dug onto an inclined moving grate comprising two sets of serrated bars 7 and 8, the movements of which are circular or elliptic in a direction opposite to that of the road wheels 1, and alternate so that the material is conveyed up the incline engaging with first one and This movement, moreover, causes the earth to be separated from the potatoes and discharged through the spaces between the bars. The bar sets mesh with one another, two bars of each being preferably arranged close to one another, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The movements of the bars 7 and 8 are effected by means on the shaft 11 either by having each bar connected to a separate crank on the shaft, or, as shown in Fig. 4, by having the bars 7 supported by brackets 17 connected to a cross-bar 16 and the bars 8 of the other set connected by brackets 19 to cross-bars 18, the cross-bars 16 and 18 having arms 20 and 21 respectively, mounted on cranks of the crank shaft 11, the cranks of one set being disposed at an angle of 180 to the other. In this construction the front ends of the bars are supported on rollers 10 mounted on a shaft 9 carried by the share frame 6.

Some of the bars 7 and 8 are carried beyond the crank shaft 11 and incline in the opposite direction to form a delivery chute.

The crank shaft 11 receives its motion by means of a pinion 14 which meshes with a gear wheel 15 on the shaft 2.

In the construction according to Fig. 5 there is an additional shaft 34 which is driven by means of a chain gear 35 from the shaft 11 so as to move in unison with the latter. This shaft 34, serves as an additional support for the grate bars instead of the rollers 10 and causes the circular movement of the grates to be extended throughout their length. The cranks of this shaft 34 may be shorter than those of the shaft 11, the brackets 36, which support the bars thereon, being slotted to allow for the great er longitudinal movement imparted by the shaft 11 to the bars. A differential gear The grates may be constructed as shown in Fig. 12 in which the side bars are shown to be on a higher level than the middle ones so that the materials can be retained on the grate without the frame 6. This may be efl'ected either by lengthening some of the bar supports, by bending the cross-bars 16, 18 or by adding to the width of the outer bars.

According to Fig. 13 the grates are firmly secured by means of the studs 71, 72 to double-armed levers 81, 82 supported by a crank shaft 11. The pivots 83, 8a of the levers are held by the links 85, 86 the opposite ends of which are pivoted at 87 to a rigid arm 101 which also holds the share 33. The pivots 83, 8 1 may be adjusted for altering the movement of the grates. The working depth may be adjusted by means of arms 102 movable about the shaft 2 and operated by means of a hand lever 104;.

The share may be dispensed with if the grates be extended in front and adapted to do the digging themselves. An elevator may be employed for delivering the cleaned potatoes into sacks or into a trailer. The crank shaft may be operated by means of a separate motor instead of by the road Wheels.

I claim:

1. In a potato harvesting machine of the character described having ground wheels, serrated grate bars, the serrated edges of the outer bars being at a higher level than the serrated edges of the inner bars; and means for imparting a circular motion to said bars in a direction opposite to that of the ground wheels of the machine, alternate bars being at different angles of motion so that the material. is moved along the grates.

2. In a potato harvesting machine of the character described having ground wheels, serrated grate bars; cross bars holding said grate bars so as to form intermeshing grates; and means for imparting a circular motion to said grates in a direction opposite to that of the ground wheels of the machine, the grates being at different angles of motion so that the material is moved along the grates.

3. In a potato harvesting machine of the character described having ground wheels, serrated grate bars; cross bars holding alternate grate bars so as to form two grates whose bars inter-mesh and work in pairs close to one another; and means for imparting a circular motion to said grates in a direction opposite to that of the ground wheels of the machine, the grates being at different angles of motion so that the material is moved along the grates.

4. In a potato harvesting machine of the character described having ground Wheels, serrated grate bars; cross bars holding said grate bars, so as to form intermeshing grates; cranks controlling the grates; and means for actuating the cranks so as to move the grates circularly in a direction opposite to that of the ground wheels of the machine, the grates being at different angles of motion so as to convey the material thereon.

M. v. BRoNDUM.

Witnesses:

A. A. CHRISTENSEN, E. H. RASMUSSEN. 

